Missed our big launch news? Here it is in 107 seconds. Don’t blink. pic.twitter.com/zCdx8oDwgg
— Apple (@Apple) September 7, 2016
Apple launch iPhone today with more features and some dissatisfaction. However they are make it simple by this time.
Australia Post trials drone delivery program
Australia post testing a remote control Drone delivery program to deliver packages in rural and remote ares. This is a big move from a organisation that declineit’s profits every year due to digital disruption.
“We’re exploring the viability of adding this to our multiple methods of delivery,” Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_7oiYLUt4
Earlier this year, Westpac also introduce its Little Ripper Drone to see sharks and possible threats on the sea.
All Masters stores will close by December 11
Even the big guys make mistakes. Retail giant announces that they will close all the Masters stores by end of December 2016.
Woolworths plan to recover about 1.5 Billion dollars by selling the Masters. they have 82 Masters shops around Australia.
They employee over 7,700 staff for their hardware stores. most probably most of them will get Jobs at Woolworths.
SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer mentioned that the union had commenced discussions with Masters and Woolworths regarding job losses.
“This is a devastating announcement for some 6,000 staff in light of recently improved trading and positive signals that some parties were interested in the business as a
going concern,” Mr Dwyer saidHome Timer & hardware was the first attempt by Woolworths’ to take on Wesfarmers’ Bunnings, before setting up Masters brand in 2011.
The strategy has failed spectacularly with Woolworths expected to write off Masters as a discontinued business at a cost of $2.7 billion in its full-year results. abc.net.au
Jollibee Australia What do you want to know?
Jollibee is a Fast growing fast food chain from the Philippines. They have westernized Philippines food. according to news.com.au report, they will come to Australia and will open Jollibee Australia shops in 2017.
“Currently, we are present in two (continents), and in the next two years we will see Jollibee in four continents,” Dennis Flores said.
So, What do you want to know about Jollibee?
If you are never eaten from this fast food chain while you were in overseas, you might think how is the food taste? here are the few facts about Jollibee.
01. The name says it all. Their mascot is a Bee
Yes, they have a Bee with a cooking hat for their logo. Jollibee’s founder, Tony Tan, decided on the mascot because he wanted the company to reflect the optimism and hardworking attitude of Filipinos, according to The Economist.
02. They got rice on their menu
We have seen a lot of McDonnalds in Asia has rice in their Menu. but they never include rice in Australian menu. however, Jollibee has rice on their menu. this will be a great news for south Asian live in Australia.
03. It’s famous for kids birthday parties
They are famous for Kids birthday parties all over the world. because they got a kid’s friendly Mascot and food also tastier than many fast food chains, they will have a big success in Australia, when it’s come to children’s birthday parties.
04. They got a delivery service
How do you feel your McDonnalds come to your Door ??? yes, this new fast food chain has door to door deliveries. they only introduce it to their home country, however, we hope they will have delivery service in Australia.
05. They are very popular in Social Media
When we write this article we thought about going to Social media and do some extended research about this fast growing company. Yes, they have a very powerful social media following around the world.
Stronger Presence of Amazon’s Book Depository in Australia
Amazon’s Book Depository announced its major expansion in the Australian market in February 2016 by adding a large number of Australian titles in its collection. Actually since 2005, Book Depository has been opened for the Australian market, but with the addition of more than 25,000 Australian titles, this is the first time Book Depository is really focusing on the Australian market.
Not only adding thousands of new titles in its collection, but now it can also ship books from Australia. The shipment itself will be handled by DAI Post, a Melbourne based logistic company, that will be responsible for packing and sending local orders.
Book Depository also has made deals with a number of Australian publishers in order to keep adding its Australian titles. This enables Book Depository to have books from Australian authors available at the time they are released in Australia, so it no longer has to wait until those books are internationally available like how it was before. With customers spreading in 116 different countries, Book Depository is hoping to bring those Australian books to its international customers much sooner without having to wait until they are available in the international market.
It isn’t clear just how much the Australian market expansion affects the annual turnover of Book Depository or how much its sales in Australia has grown in the last few years. But the group managing director of Book Depository, Chris McKee does indicate that Book Depository is growing as a whole. Furthermore McKee added that Book Depository had 12 million books on sale last years, while this year the number has increased to 14 million books. One of the main factors that contributes to its sales improvement is because it can offer free shipping, it also offers various currencies to better serve its international customers.
Looks like many local online booksellers are quite happy with this development. The chief executive of Booktopia, Tony Nash, expressed how he has been preparing his business to anticipate when Amazon is finally having a stronger local presence in Australia. He also said that his business has a great presence in the local market and it’s growing significantly every year, around 30%-40%. However, Nash added that bricks and mortar bookstores may not be too excited about Book Depository peenetrates deeper to the local market.
Some of these conventional bookstores might have to struggle as Amazon Book Depository will take over some of the extra edge of orders from them. However, of course there are bookstores that can still prosper. These are good bookstores that always add value to the sales process. These extra values might be on price, bonuses or friendly service.
There is no doubt that there will be a reaction in the local book market due to the increased presence of Book Depository in Australia. But in the end, the customers will get the most benefits from greater competition between retailers. It’s always best to give more choices to the customers and this competition will also make retailers try to provide better services to their customers.
Eagle Boys – Pizza Hut Merger
Eagle Boys and Pizza Hut is currently in the process of negotiation for a possible merger to form the second largest pizza chain in Australia. The two pizza chains are currently holding about 35% of takeaway pizza market in Australia with a total of 384 outlets all over the country. While Domino, the largest pizza chain in Australia has more than 600 outlets all over Australia and New Zealand.
A report from Fairfax stated that Allegro Funds, a Sydney based private equity firm is currently doing serious talks in its effort to buy the Eagle Boys from SV Partners as well as to buy the Australian Pizza Hut from Yum! Brands. Allegro Funds is a private equity firm that owns bus maker Custom, Great Southern Rail and Carpet Court.
Related : This man successfully sues Domino’s over pizza order and received $1203.27
Over the last few months there are two private equity firms that seriously show interest in the two pizza chains, but Allegro Funds seems to be the one that’s getting closer to secure the deal. The indication is getting stronger following the appointment with Eagle Boys’ administrators David Stimpson and Terrence Rose last July.
Since the meeting, 13 Eagle Boys have closed and it was reported that the head office has $30 million debt to creditors. According to Fairfax report, it’s still uncertain whether Allegro Funds is planning to continue operating these brands separately using their original names or it will change the brand names of Eagle Boys outlets to Pizza Hut.
Merger and what it really means to franchisees
According to the director of the Franchise Advisory Centre, Jason Gehrke, Just because a franchise network is sold, it doesn’t mean that the buyer will automatically negotiate new franchise agreements with the current franchisees. Usually, franchise agreements include a clause that enables the franchisor to apply the existing agreement without recourse.
This is actually a win-win for both the franchisor and franchisees, because it allows the franchisor to easily sell the business without the need to have the franchisees’ approval. However, after the sale, the buyer can either apply the existing agreements or subsequently try to alter the agreements or even change the agreements completely.
In a situation where two franchise networks merge or a franchised business is sold to another similar business, usually there will be an overlap in the outlets’ locations. In case of an overlap, some outlets may be closed or released from their agreement to be able to trade independently.
Branding is also an important subject in this matter. One of the most often question after the merger is whether the buyer should continue using the original brand or to absorb it into the other, bigger brand. In case they choose to absorb it, the new outlets would obviously need to be rebranded in time. The following questions is usually about who’s going to pay for the rebranding process.
If the rebranding is paid by the franchisor, usually the whole process will be quicker and done comprehensively. However if it’s paid by the franchisees, usually it will take time and not to mention an internal resistance that might just happen.
Coles’ New Dark Store
Coles just opened its new “dark store” (due to the use of dimmer lights) in Melbourne. This store is meant to be its online-only dark store and it has a plan to expand into other areas with dense population.
During Westfarmers’ annual strategy briefing last June, John Durkan the Coles’ boss stated that his dark stores will be closed to public and only open for dedicated staff who will pick and deliver products to customers who purchase online. The opening itself took place after Woolworths opened that kind of store in Sydney back in 2014.
Dr. En Li, an online shopping expert from Central Queensland University warned that the presence of these dark stores could alienate about 50% of shoppers. Because if you just pay attention to supermarket shoppers you will see that half of them like to touch their products while the other half don’t.
The tendency to move towards online stores by Coles is an effort to capitalize on the growing demand of online grocery shopping. This new dark store is located in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, which currently serves a 5km radius.
According to Durkan, even though this strategy is going to be profitable, but it won’t be ragingly profitable. He also added that the only way he could see the store works is by serving high density areas only. In 2013, there was an analysis report on British dark stores published by AT Kearny which found that dark stores actually could be three times more effective to bring in profit compared with conventional supermarkets. So looks like there’s a bright future awaits after all for this kind of business.
Dark stores are designed for optimum efficiency in serving online customers. Unlike traditional supermarkets that also serve online customers, where the staff should negotiate trolleys around customers, managing queues and promotional setups in order to collect products for online orders.
Coles made the announcement just a few weeks after there was a news that Amazon was planning to launch AmazonFresh, its online grocery service in Australia. With Coles and Amazon, two giant retail companies are racing to penetrate the online grocery market in Australia, looks like online grocery shopping is going to be the new lifestyle of many Australians in the near future.
That said, the online customers behavior expert, Dr. En Li, still thinks that the trend will not eliminate physical stores, even though he also believes that it’s a highly profitable move for supermarkets.
Furthermore he added that not all product categories are online friendly, like those products that you need to feel, touch or smell in order to know their quality. Also remember that half of the supermarket shoppers like to touch their products before buying while the rest don’t. So that means there is still something that only conventional supermarkets can offer.
The dark store concept will work especially in high density areas with a crowded traffic condition. People in these areas really value the simplicity of online shopping. They always want to get a product easier and that’s why the dark store can be really acceptable in these areas.